Puritan 136 vs 156 for simple system


I am looking at these two options for a fairly simple two channel system. My set up is:

Musical Fidelity A1

Gustard R26 DAC

Eversolo A6 Streamer

What I am wondering here is would it really be worth it to upgrade to the 156 over the 136?

128x128temmple

@audphile1 Have you listened to any of the DACs you mentioned and compared them directly to the R26?  I have compared the R26 directly to the Eversolo A6, A8, ANK 4.1x LE, PS Audio Directstream MK2, Berkeley Audio Alpha Reference 2 MQA, and Holo May KTE.  And before the R26 I had the Denafrips Ares II, Pontus II, Gustard X26.  I am telling you two things.  One is that differences in DACs are small and listening for them can drive you crazy.  Most people don't have the ability to closely level match and compare using identical cables etc. etc.. so opinions are highly suspect.  Two is that the R26 is an excellent DAC.  I prefer the Berkeley Ref 2, Eversolo A8 and Holo May KTE to the R26 but I prefer the R26 to all the other DACs I mentioned. Even so, that preference is not dramatic since all modern DACs are basically pretty competent.  Some of the DACs you mentioned may be slightly better than the R26 but DACs are the last place the OP should be spending his money.

@temmple you are listening on $775 kit speakers and you are wondering whether you should be upgrading your power supply?  I think you don't understand what is really going to make the biggest difference in your system.  I don't know much about standmount/bookshelf speakers but the first thing I would do with your system is replace your speakers.

Lol injecting some humor always helps. Now we’re on the same page as far as power conditioner and network tweaks go in that system. 
 

 

@temmple - Our fellow posters are making a lot of sense. For me, the Puritan was a final touch, final edit purchase. I’d labored over my selection of components and felt everything else had been dialed in. 
 

Finding the speakers that deliver the sound you want is mission number one in my book. 

The speakers in question top many $5-10k speakers. I have a very well balanced system I just want to find a good power solution in the price range mentioned above. Power distribution with light filtering would be nice.  Was wanting input on power options. I know how to piece together a two channel setup. This would be my budget system and sounds pretty amazing for the price.
 

The Puritan 136 has surge protection too.

if your AC has DC noise you’ll sense an improvement for sure.

no regrets on my 2 Channel digital only system